


Catch us if you can!

by Illidria



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, FamilyAU, LLF Comment Project, Really - there's a lot of OC-Kids, future!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-23 05:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13183548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illidria/pseuds/Illidria
Summary: "You could think we have the plague with how much they run off."Alexander Armstrong joking, grinning widely, fondness in his voice. His sister’s own words hitting the nail on the head."We're old, they think that’s contagious."





	Catch us if you can!

**Author's Note:**

> My dears,  
> this one is a wish-fic for tumblrs juliaepevic!
> 
> Here is the prompt:  
>  _Can you do something with 90 (Catch us if you can!) and 137 (You're an asshole) for Lilly (she is 16 years old), Valja (14 years old) and Kolja (10 years old)? Like a group of bad man wants to kidnap them._
> 
> As you can imagine, this one is pretty OC-heavy and this prompt has been a long time coming, as I had severe block since then, but I of course still hope you like it and would really love to hear what you think :D

"She looks just like you."

Olivier was sipping on her champagne, not looking at him, but at her daughter. The girl was dancing with his oldest, Maes, grinning like a fool and blushing like the dawn. Turned towards him with an eyebrow raised, well over fifty and still strikingly beautiful, her snark, her attitude, not much different from sixteen years ago. Three kids or not.

"No, she doesn’t."

A tone to her voice, that brooked no contradiction.

Yet, they did look alike. Lilly was the spitting image of her mother at that age, slender and fit, the hair long and blond and curly. Her cheekbones were just as high, lips a bit too full for her face, but there was little doubt that shed grow into them sooner rather than later, just like her mother had. Even their eyes were the same, big and blue and expressive, down to the very last eyelash. Only their smile was different, the young girl having gotten that particular feature from her father. When she turned it on, it was the brightest you could imagine, wide and toothy and just happy. He now understood what Olivier had meant.

"She’s happier than you were that age?"

Her smirk hard to spot, hidden by the rim of her glass. Still, pride at his observation bloomed within his chest, he one of the few who’d known her back then, who could judge accordingly.

Her tone was almost wistful.

"I do not remember myself as having been as smiley as she is. But it means we did something right, huh?"

Plenty, if people asked him, which they sadly rarely did.

Lilly had been born about six months after the promised day, up in the Fort, during the worst storm of the still young century. Her father had barely survived the promised day and retired due to his injuries. Yet, the rumours flew around quickly, the outrage of moral enforcers plenty and vocal. A part of the militaries upper tiers tried to work an offense out of the girl’s birth, while others chimed for it to be cruel to try and raise a kid there, up in the frozen north, so far away from everything. Thankfully, the bears of the north had thick skin and were good at pretending to be deaf.

When he first met Lilith Alexandra, being called by her full name still making the Generals Brother cry, he’d marvelled.

At the tiny baby, cute and captivating somehow. At the fierceness in her parent’s gazes, turning to pure adoration once trained on their daughter. At the way Hawkeye had held the kid, him being refused to brusquely by Olivier first. How she’d given in after a bit of begging on his part, the little bundle warm, starting to cry the second he held her in his arms. Her mother commenting and praising her daughters good taste.

The uproar calmed soon, when those in the military wanting her court martialled had to admit that there was no grounds for this. No one new when she conceived, for the first few years Lilly's date of birth was even veiled, easy to do in the solitude of the Fort. As such, nobody could pin down if Buccaneer had already been retired when Lilly happened, couldn’t even discern if he really was the father or just put on paper as a name, thus no clear charge possible. People did not put it behind her to just having talked the former captain into posing as the father and the little girl offered no clues either, spitting image of her mother. It was a display of Olivier’s infamous ability to scheme and play the game too, the use of the rumours floating around about her used to her advantage, leaving Mustang impressed. Two years and a marriage later, their first son, Valentin, was born. And a few years after that, as a late surprise, their second son, Nikolai. She was part of his cabinet now, the head-diplomat of the country, though this still felt like an in-joke. And at this winter’s ball, a by now established and formal event held every year, plenty had brought their kids, the usual discussions about politics broken up by chatter about parenting, food, schools and games the little ones liked, as well as what presents to buy for the numerous festivities.

Roy smiled into his glass before taking a sip.

"I know my opinion doesn’t matter in this, but I think you did plenty right. You both did. Your three are brave, polite, friendly and smart. And don’t take this the wrong way, but Maes is totally smitten with Lilly, so there's that."

A "Tch" escaped her, though with less force than usual.

"Maes is alright, takes after Hawkeye."

Both of them snorting at that, watching their children twirl on the dancefloor, the barely fifteen-year-old Maes dancing with Lilly, who'd turned sixteen a while ago. Maes really did take after his mother, having gotten large parts of his eyes and face from her. His hair was jet-black though, the boys charming smile his own, though it wasn’t making an appearance at the moment. The girl made him nervous, though she was decidedly more smiley and friendly than her mother, still an aura of power and cunning around her. And Maes was nervous, not just because of that, but because he'd heard stories about Buccaneer, how he'd scared a young man from Lilly's school out of dating her. Inwardly died of laughter, when he thought about how Olivier was seen as the laid-back on by the kids, considered the cool aunt by his own.

"And Lilly is not going to debut this year?"

Remembered well when she'd been sixteen, not having shown up to her own debutante-ball. His aunt had even put him in a train for that, so he could be at Central and had laughed raucously when she heard of what had happened.

"Told her grandparents that she doesn’t feel adult enough for one and put them of to her eighteenth birthday. They were a bit disappointed, but happy when she didn’t just tell them no."

His question tumbling forth before he could stop it, the mutual roasting having toned down over the years, making way for honest conversations.

"And you're alright with that?"

Her sigh big and heavy, drawing the look of Buccaneer like she pulled on a string, the man talking with Valja on the other side of the room.

"Well, I'm fine with it, though you can guess that I'm not ecstatic. But she really seems to want it of her own, and not just to please her grandparents, so there could be worse things to do at this age."

He laughed a bit.

"Run away and join the military? Be trained by one of the most notoriously mad man in it and survive as one of only five to ever do so? Become the most feared General of the country and then manage a peace-treaty with the country that feared you the most?"

"Please, the kids think I take naps at work and that all the tales they heard about Buccaneer and me are extremely exaggerated!"

Humour in her voice, the deadpan kind.

"At least yours don’t tell you to shave your moustache off."

A gleam to her eyes now, just as the music changed and Hawkeye walked back to them, having danced with Armstrong’s brother.

"Because everybody knows better than to have one as ugly as yours. Shave it!"

Their talk interrupted by Hawkeyes arrival and Kolja, Olivier’s youngest at ten years, storming up to them and hugging his mother’s middle.

Their talk was silent, as everything was with the boy. The blonde set her glass down, knelt to his level, a conversation quickly struck up by use of hand-signs. When he'd tuned two years old and had still not spoken a word, not even tried to babble somewhat coherently, the doctors had told her that maybe the early birth, the lack of oxygen during it, had led to damage. Buccaneer and she had fought against that notion, had put behind them an odyssey of doctors, trying to find out what kept him from speaking. After lots of time, lots of tears he was sworn to never tell a soul about, it became clear that Kolja's eardrums were basically useless, that he did not speak, because he'd never heard anything in the first place. The boy was undoubtedly smart, the already in everyday life incorporated simple sign-language was used more and more and soon it felt like nothing was different at all.

Roy understood that the kids all wanted to go to the gardens, probably to get away from all the prying eyes and that Olivier told Kolja a time to be back inside at and to be save. In a flash, the kids were gone.

All that regularly had to do with him were pretty fluent by now, his family of course the most. Kolja had started to pick up on lip-reading too, which had made traversing the world without his family around easier. Signing worked, had even helped all that knew with silent communication over greater distances and was a great way to converse in loud spaces. He often caught himself doing it with his daughter Lizzy, the fastest signer he knew, he unable to keep up when she talked with Kolja, both close in age.

Her blonde head zapping past him at hip-level, following her friends outside.

"You could think we have the plague with how much they run off."

Alexander Armstrong joking, grinning widely, fondness in his voice. His sister’s own words hitting the nail on the head.

"We're old, they think that’s contagious."

* * *

"Uncle Havoc told me that your mom was called the "Ice-cold Wall" in Drachma!"

Valentin had heard these stories before, all the things their parents, Maes and Lizzies parents, everybody’s parents basically, supposedly did. And while he loved his father’s tales of his childhood and culture, the funny stories his mother sometimes told from her time at Mount Briggs, he wasn’t convinced that all of it was true. And how could he be? His father regularly tipped over while decorating the Christmas tree, could hardly keep their dog in check. He was the stricter one of his parents, but that was about it. And his mother?! She knew how to handle her sword alright, but she'd never answered when he asked if she ever hurt someone with it. And when she wasn’t at work she was knitting, or playing with his siblings. How could these two, as much as he loved them, be the badasses the grown-ups tried to make them out to be?

"Yeah Lizzy, I was told the same thing too. But that’s just a nickname, it means very little."

Lizzy was the youngest in their little group, about half a year younger than Kolja at nine years old. A nice girl, easy to babysit if it was his turn, but also a bit too believing of the tales people tried to tell them. He was fourteen and figured out around her age, that they were probably only told such stories, so they'd behave better. His mother napped on the couch with drool running down her chin and his father constantly made the same joke of taking off his prosthetic arm and scratching his back with it. He loved them very, very much, but they were just your typical embarrassing parents.

The little blonde ran off to talk with Kolja, signing fast, talking about the stories she’d been told with him. Lilly was walking in front, alone, lifting her dress up a little so it wouldn’t brush over the grass beneath their feet. And Maes was just now catching up to him, elbowing him in the side.

"Eh Amor, how’s it going?"

Groaned at his unloved nickname, stemming from his untimely birthday on February fourteenth, better known as valentine’s day and the embarrassing fact that he was apparently considered pretty, girls whispering when he walked past.

Not that he didn’t like girls, but the attention was too much for him, the constant questions going hand in hand, often decidedly stupid, too. He kept his hair long because he wanted to. Yes, he looked a lot like his mother. Yes, he was very tall for a fourteen-year-old. No, he did not know if he would grow out of his baby-face. It was infatuating to a degree and had him pull back and say little. His mom understood that well, comforted him alongside his father, but he knew that nobody could do anything against it. So, he just hoped that he'd outgrow his father too, fill out a bit and look less like a weed and maybe grow a badass beard, so people would be too afraid to constantly ask stupid questions.

"Stop it with that name Maes, or I'll return to calling you jitters!"

They were almost the same age and good friends, even went to the same school and class, but Maes could be annoying with his jokes. His own jab had the desired effect though, the equally black-haired boys infatuation with his older sister something he, sadly, hadn’t missed. The nickname stemmed from the shivers, the jittering, that would manifest, if he got too close to her. Which was weird for him to think about, because his sister wasn’t the worst around, but let her clothes lie about, could be bossy and rarely cleaned up behind her. And while his friend being able to dance with her made him happy for him, it also weirded him out: Lilly stepped on your feet persistently, no training from their dad had been able to change that.

"Damn, Valja, no reason to get like this! But anyways, you know what?! Dad said that your mom can win in a fight against your Uncle Alex!"

Uncle Alex was the strongest men he knew, there was no way mom could beat him in a fight. And he never really got the awe Maes felt when confronted with his mother either, though chalked it up to her looking like an older version of Lilly. Or because she took them on fun activities sometimes, like paintball or swimming.

"I don’t no man, Moms good with her sabre, but against Uncle Alex? Maybe when he's unarmed, and she has her sword?"

His friend’s excitement was unbroken.

"I wouldn’t put it past her, after what Uncle Havok told Lizzy and me!"

He sighed, so loud that his sister let herself fall back to them, butting in.

"See Maes, they all tell stories about our parents and I believe none of them! How the hell does your father please breath fire?! And I've seen my mom knit, she could kill someone with those needles if you get too close, but not in any other situation!"

Lilly's voice was pressed saying that, with the bossy tone she must’ve gotten from their father, but Maes was having none of it.

"And where do the scars come from then?! My Mom and Dad are covered in them and yours are too! How did your dad lose his arm? And there are scars on your mothers back too, you can see them peeking out of her dress!"

Valja felt his teeth ground together, having enough.

"Cut it out Maes, please! It's just annoying, all those people constantly telling us stuff and when we ask our parents about it, they never answer. If that's not admitting to a lie, I don’t know what is!"

They walked in silence for a while, not uncomfortable, but heavy. Until Lizzy announced that she had to pee. Maes took her by the hand and went to the building with her, his little sister having gotten lost in the winding corridors more than once already. They walked on, came to a halt by the decorative fence and breathed in the cold and crisp December air for a moment. His sister spoke up, signing all the while.

"I wish these stories would stop! True or not, our parents always get this really weird look in their eyes whenever someone asks them about it!"

Kolja butted in.

_Mom almost cried once. And Dad always goes silent._

Valentin opened his mouth to say something too, to voice his frustrations out loud too, but was cut short by a hand over his mouth. Watched, struggling, as his sister elbowed a man in the face, before getting hit harshly over the head and sinking to the floor. Struggled even more at that, using all of his strength to little avail when his little brother too was held by strong arms and bound with a piece of rope.

Finally got an arm free, tried to fight back, just for a pain to bloom from his temple.

The world went black.

* * *

Riza understood that they were upset.

No, scratch that. She felt with them, was livid and angry and scared out of her mind. Apparently, Lilly, Valja and Kolja had been abducted, via telephone someone had claimed to want money for their freedom about half an hour ago. Something that was quickly cast aside as a fluke, because you did not ask for only a million cenz, if Armstrong’s were involved. Hid her relief when thinking about her own children, having left the scene only minutes before. Discarded this feeling quickly again, when thinking about their upset faces.

"What do you mean we have no idea where they are?!"

Buccaneer was almost screaming, necktie loosened, cumberbund and sack coat hanging open. He was leaning close to her husband, almost nose to nose with him, but knew that Roy wasn’t in danger. Buccaneer would never go this far, especially not with Olivier at his back. The woman in question had changed out of her dress already, talked one of the evenings servers into giving her a spare-pair of black pants and a blouse. Her sword at her hip, which had been a well-hidden part of her dress. Was just now handed a haphazardly fitting uniform-jacket and a handgun, so she was ready to fight against the cold and the foes. Looked at her husband, sighed and got him to clear his head quickly.

"William, cut it out! This isn’t Mustangs fault. We'll find out who fucked up the security later, now we need to get them back!"

Wasn’t angry, or rushed, but calm and collected. It sent a shiver down Riza's spine, knowing that retired General Armstrong was most dangerous then. Watched the women look from one person to the next, whipping out a plan like she’d been ready for this all along.

"Mustang, you got the police up to speed already, as well as the military?"

Her husband nodded, equally as calm. Spared a thought to how similar they were in such situations, calm and cunning and dangerous. Though she was just as aware that fear was boiling under eithers collected surface.

"Everybody who needs to know is informed. We did not disclose names yet though, to cover up our tracks a little. There's roadblocks and people on the lookout. Hospitals were informed too, just to make sure."

Armstrong nodded, watched by everybody in the room, while Buccaneer was handed a coat, got rid of his formal attire and flipped several switches on his automail-arm. With a singing-sound, not unlike a knife whipping through the air, his metal fingertips were suddenly tipped off with claws. He looked grim, handed a handgun now too and nodded when his wife asked her next question.

"Someone is picking Fadeaushka up from our house as we speak?"

Buccaneers voice was now considerably calmer than before.

"Miss Havoc said she'd do so and should be back shortly!"

The past honorific, her Sir or Ma'am, went unsaid, though it hung in the air. Rebecca was pregnant, about four months in, with Jean and hers second child. Everybody had made clear that she would not be joining the scouting parties, should rather coordinate in and around the building, keep an eye on Lizzy and Maes, too. And while the woman wasn’t too happy about that, she wasn't too miffed either. Had instead volunteered to pick up the Armstrong-Buccaneer-households family dog, Fadeaushka. The black and fluffy mix was huge, strong, smart and by now on the more elderly side of things, but would sniff the kids out in no time, should there be a lead. All the kids loved the animal, even her own dogs, though it liked to be picky about whom he obeyed. Something that had never been a problem, when Armstrong was around.

"We got any leads?"

It was her now that answered, already changed too, having spoken with the guards and a couple that had conveniently been in the parking lot at the time of the abduction, having identified an unusual vehicle on the premises.

"An unknown van has left the parking lot at the right time, headed east and has been spotted again close to East Business Park. Cars are waiting on the outside for us whenever we're ready to move out!"

None of them were part of the military anymore expect for Buccaneer, though he'd only come back when offered a position as instructor for new recruits. Mustang had retired when joining the presidential election, as had she, to become head of his security. Armstrong had retired only a week after Valja's birth, joined Mustangs cabinet another week later and had negotiated a peace-treaty with Drachma, while her son still had been unable to hold his own head upright. And Buccaneer had retired after the promised day, was ready to again, he'd said only a few hours earlier.

Yet, they all moved in unison, equipped with guns and swords and gloves, ready to bust the kids out. Split into two teams when stepping outside, a black dog following Armstrong and Buccaneer without much ado, the animal feeling the tension. Hand signs had them plan the last bits, before they drove off, each team in a different direction.

She spotted the worried faces of Lizzy and Maes at a window, feeling a pang.

* * *

 

They'd muffled his sister’s words with a sock, about ten seconds after she woke up.

She'd screamed at them, unintelligible for him. He only caught a few of the words on her lips, though not enough to make anything coherent out of it. But she must've been annoying them to no end, because they not only “socked” her mouth shut, but also bound her hands and feet and even found and taken away a knife that must’ve been hidden in the folds of her dress. Valja wasn’t faring much better either, limbs tightly bound to his body. Kolja could see his brother struggle against the restrains, but there was no tape over his mouth at least. But he also saw that his brother wasn’t talking, kept his lips firmly sealed, only once mouthing towards him, to keep calm.

Easier said than done, Kolja thought.

They hadn’t bound him, did not ask him any questions, did not address him when speaking. The men’s lips he could easily follow, as they spoke calmly with one another, seemed practiced in what they did. He’d caught where they were brought, what their names were and that they called him the "retarded one". He’d been called that often enough in his live, swallowed his pride and decided to use their stupidity as an advantage. Planned to cut his siblings ropes as soon as they were alone, thankful for the knife his mother had hidden in the sole of his shoe.

 _For emergencies_ , she'd signed. And then: _I love you_

Did his best to look as stupid as possible, like he was dying of fear. Which wasn’t too hard, because he really was terrified, wasn’t sure what was going on and knew that there wasn’t much he could do, should one of the grubby men decide to be mean to him or his siblings. Hoped that acting dumb would help him, stared to the floor of the vehicle, eyes only sweeping sometimes. Caught the man’s words when he was turning to them, not looking at him directly, but speaking about him nonetheless.

“You think the boy even knows that we're driving somewhere?”

The other must have replied something rude about him, because he saw his sister struggle some more, saw her try to speak through the sock in her mouth. Wanted to show them that, yes, he very well knew they were moving. Felt when the road they were driving on took a turn, could even tell if left or right, felt the vibrations of the motor through the metal he sat on. The shudders when it died down, signalling them having come to a halt.

The back of the truck was opened, revealing an old factory building. His siblings lead out before him, their bound feet untied for that. He was shoved, one of the man pointed to follow and he remembered to look like he didn’t understand what the guy wanted at first. His hair was dirty-blond, fell into his eyes. Partly hid grey eyes and a dirty face, the snarl of impatience. After the man pointed a second time he climbed out and followed his siblings obediently. Watched as another man sat them down on chairs, binding their feet again. This one had black hair, cropped pretty short. A rather nice face Kolja thought to himself, a man you wouldn’t meet in the street and expect to be kidnapped by. Wondered why they now moved to take the sock out of his sister’s mouth, who just started to talk unintelligible again, clearly angry.

Flinched, when they slapped her hard.

“Serves you right, you brat!”

The black-haired man pronounced very clearly, was easy to read. His sister was still shaking, probably boiling with rage and he saw Valja struggle against his bonds too.

“I know you probably think mommy and daddy are coming to save you, but that doesn’t mean you should act up like you do!”

Was there a tad bit of fear in the man’s eyes? His parents had a wide reach, knew a lot of people, but Kolja didn’t know how they should be able to find them here.

“The guys who'll pick you up soon paid us a good amount of money to get you three here. Probably don’t even know how many people hate your parents, what they’ve done in the past, huh? The northern Wall of Briggs, the Ice Queen, the Metal-Clawed Bear and the Bane of Drachma? Never heard of it?”

Grinned in a more than ugly way, the hand on his shoulder now shoving him towards his siblings. He huddled close to Valja, hoped that they'd be left alone for a few minutes at last. They could run then, find a way out of here. Or hide. His father had always said that you should hide, if there was nowhere to run.

The black-haired man left for one of the upper levels, many following. Kolja saw guns and knives, fear surging through him again. Saw some pairs of eyes leer at Lilly, who he now realised wasn’t just shaking with rage, but with unshed tears also. Dirty-blonde circled them, producing a rifle from the back of a truck.

Nothing much happened for a few minutes, the horror of the situation cursing through all three of them. Lilly and Kolja were struggling against their bonds, he tried to find a way to flee to, a way out of this. And then he had an idea. Sat down close to them, the floor beneath him more than just cold. Dirty-blonde looked when he did so, but seemed to think of his swiftly moving hands, his bowed head, as a sign for his perceived "retardedness". His siblings though, understood what he told them.

_I have a knife in my shoe_

His brother speaking wordlessly, lips moving clearly though.

_Why do you have a knife?! Forget it, you can’t cut us loose when the guy is looking_

His sister joining in quickly, forcing herself to seem calm, hopeful.

_We need a distraction and we need it quick! When our guard goes looking, you cut Valja loose_

He relayed what the respective other said, his brother not amused when he heard of their older sister’s plan.

_Why me?! What do you intend to do_

Watching his sister’s lips, signing towards his brother quickly.

_You'll now when you see it_

He interjected with his own signed words, not giving his brother room to talk them out of it.

_Where will we go to when free_

Which he thought was a viable question, underlined by how long Lilly and Valja thought about it. His sister was the first to silently answer him.

_You'll hide in the hallways we can see from here_

Relayed it to his older brother, Lilly putting in motion her part of the plan before they could even ask another question. Saw the fear in her eyes for a moment, feeling like his own threatened to overtake him then, too. Then, everything happened very quickly.

Lilly screamed again, probably throwing insults, toppling over her chair with a skilful and deliberate rocking of her body. The guard fell for it, went over to her, more than just angry. Grabbed her arm, lifted her and the chair up, with his other hand slapping her hard again, saying something Kolja couldn’t understand. All the while he was quickly cutting his brother loose, who was just screaming the same word, so often that after the fourth time he knew what it was.

_Asshole_

Valja never swore, that was a mom and Lilly thing usually and reminded Kolja of how agitated his brother had to be. So agitated in fact, that they did not run like planned, but his brother instead hit their guard over the head.

Valja was huge for his age, but he was more like a weed than like a brick wall and Kolja had never thought about how strong his brother probably was. So strong in fact, that their guard sunk to the floor dazed, which was swiftly used by Valja, who bound him with his own cut ropes. All the while he cut free his sister, who rubbed her wrists and looked shaken, the red mark on her cheek huge, looking like it would bruise. He lifted his hands and clapped as quietly as he could to get her attention.

_Are you alright? We'll get out of here_

Watched as her eyes went wide at that, changing from a watery to a grim look. She mouthed to him a few words, before taking his hand and leading the way.

_Everything will be alright, thank you Kolja!_

They ran as quickly and silently as they could, his sister leading the way, his little brother led by her.

His knuckles hurt from where he'd bashed their guard over the head, his other was still fighting with the foreign sensation of the rifle it was carrying. They'd taken it just so the man would not have it anymore, took it with them through winding corridors, having ducked out of the way twice already, when they heard heavy footfalls approaching. Inwardly cursed again, when thinking about the fact that their abductors had taken the keys out of the vans. Their disappearance wouldn’t go unnoticed for long and up until now they'd not found a way out of this building.

Lilly stopped to read an old map of the place on a wall, now leading them through an older part of the factory, until they finally reached an old surveillance-room, looking like nobody had been in it for years. Through the windows they could see the hall they'd been held in, the van that brought them here still standing close to the two empty chairs. Their guard was gone from the floor.

"They'll search for us soon, if they've not already started!"

Heard his sister’s words and quickly got his face away from the glass, turning around and barricading the door with an old chair. Turned to his siblings, feeling the fear and worry rise again.

"Think someone will come and rescue us?"

It was Kolja that answered, seeming more and more shaken by the second.

_They were afraid of Mom and Dad_

Which led him to think that maybe not all stories were fake. The Bane of Drachma? Metal-Clawed Bear? He heard these names for the first time and wondered if they maybe really had gone hand in hand with the others.

"Someone will come! And meanwhile we should make sure that they don’t find us and try to find a way out of here!"

Heeding his sister’s words, looking out of the window in a way that would hopefully keep him away from prying eyes, his own sweeping through the hall. There was movement now below, several men pacing the place, securing the gates. He heard screaming and flinched when he heard a gun going off. Lilly looked as spooked as he felt at that, the only one not reacting Kolja.

He and his sister looked down below for a bit, did not turn towards their little brother while speaking, did not use their hands. He’d never liked to omit Kolja from a conversation, but he felt that this would scare him too much.

“You think that’s them, trying to bust us out?”

His sister speaking lowly, shivering a little in the cold room.

“Maybe Dad used his military connections to send out a team?”

Her look hopeful, while the men in the hall below got more hectic by the second.

Wanted to say something, to answer, when the factory-halls gate creaked open, a little object rolling into the room, soon emitting smoke. Heard the panicked voices below scream in terror, heard guns and shouts and what he thought had to be the sounds of battle.

Noticed that Kolja had gotten up, was standing next to them, looking too. The smoke clearing now, several of the abductors on the floor already, others taking cover, or running away. A figure emerging, his brother signing next to him excitedly, one word only.

_Mom_

Her eyes caught theirs, steely and stern and a bit relieved, turning angry when one of the men below missed a pot-shot at her. Watched as she moved quickly, sliced weapons apart with her sabre, shouted orders at those pouring in behind her.

And Valja thought that he should better believe the stories told about his parents.

* * *

Mira had said that she’d seen them in a lookout-point, at the highest level of the hall.

They’d communicated silently through the hall, she’d taken lead of the battle below, he slipped to the side to get the kids out. Wandered the corridors, dispatched people running at him with his claws, a fury running through him like he’d never known.

Hawkeyes Maes had run out to the gardens again after going to the toilet with his sister, to call them inside again. Hadn’t found them, first thought that they were playing a prank on him, but after a few minutes of fruitless searching, he’d informed his father. Soon it had been clear that the kids were gone, had been abducted and only thanks to Hawkeyes intel-machinery, they’d gotten a direction to search in.

Had sat next to Mira in a truck, Fadeaushka at their feet, unsure if he should feel fear or fury. His wife having decided that for him, when their dog jumped out of the moving vehicle with a bark, near a dimly-lit factory, she hot on his heels. Followed, fear not forgotten, but fuelling his rage.

And now that he stood in front of the door he hoped his children were behind, he barely registered his claws digging into the thick metal. Found the ridge between door and frame, ordered his metallic arm to obey, almost effortlessly pulling the thing from its hinges.

Only later he would notice how deep his claws had bitten, how much strength this stunt would’ve taken normally, that his son had build a barricade, one he’d turned to splinters with one movement.

The only thing that mattered for a few moments were his kids, hugging him, he hugging them back.

Valja looked shaken, but suddenly older than he really was, baby-face forgotten for a moment. In Kolja’s eyes still lurked fear, though there was relief too. And Lilly, his little girl, stood tall and proud, cheek turning more purple by the minute, but with nothing but fight in her eyes.

He saw her in all of them.

Indicated for them to stay quiet, while he took a peek through the window, looking at the battle below.

Mira had whittled down their enemy considerably, the only ones still putting up a fight, four or five men maybe, having taken cover behind several metal-pipes. He could see the glints of bullets ricocheting off of them, heard her call back for Mustang to come forth. Probably wanted his fire, to scare the men out rather than to move in for the kill.

Had to be aware of the children watching, or she’d never show so much restraint.

And he from his eagle-eye position, the kids too he noticed too late, had a good view when a second wave of enemies drew up behind Mira’s back. Her back-up, men and women from Central’s Military Command stopped shooting when a gun was put to their heads. A man walked into the hall, a face he recognised, not all of their former Drachman enemies now their friends.

The kids screaming when their mother got shot from the back, falling forwards with a sound of unexpected pain. Hear the words spoken in his own mother-tongue, of prices and luck and plans. Saw the blood seeping from her shoulder, a red-patch on a blue jacket, saw her fingers twitch towards her sword. His fears sending him on a rollercoaster, though he remained able to think clearly.

Knew, that the situation was too dangerous, that she could not wait for back-up now, that all restraint would be forgone in a few moments. Pushed his children to the ground against their protests, their crying.

Made sure that they did not see the carnage when Mira was done, and he led them out of the building.

* * *

“Are you alright?”

Her parents were talking quietly, but she could hear every word they were saying, alongside the sound of rain hitting the window-pane and the engine of the car.

“I’ve had worse Will, you know that.”

Feigned sleep in the backseat, her brothers both snoring away beside her. A pang in her heart at the tenderness in her parent’s voices, an even bigger one when she thought about what happened in the last few hours.

The tales were true, this much was clear now and along with that revelation came the unsettling knowledge that they hadn’t been exaggerated either, but rather that many things had even been left out. Wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, not after she’d seen her parents in action.

Her mother, almost effortlessly storming a room full of enemies, making quick work with handgun and sabre and bare fists, almost all involved in their kidnapping already behind bars. Tried not to shudder when thinking about those not arrested and the fate that had befallen them. Remembered the body bags carried past her, the blood on her mother’s sword.

Her father had simply ripped open the door to the room they’d hidden in, two inches of steel, just pulled from the hinges. His prosthetic had glinted in the light, fingers tipped off with claws, gaze dangerous. He’d assured them that their mother was fine, had gotten up even though she’d been shot and in truth he’d just made sure that they saw nothing horrible.

Was thankful for that, for the way her parents had hugged her after having gotten them in a truck. Fadeaushka had been there, their dog a calming presence amongst them and when they’d gotten out at Central Command, the Winter’s Ball still in full swing, they’d been led to the Fuhrers bureau. Uncle Roy had been there and Uncle Alex too. Her grandparents, Riza and many more. For half an hour they must’ve been in someone’s arms without a break.

She’d not noticed that her mother had been gone for several minutes, until her littlest brother started to cry. The days events had first caught up to Kolja there, who’d been swiftly led out of the room by Dad, Valja and her following quickly. The three of them confronted with the sight of their Mom, sitting in a small room, another woman in a white coat sewing a little hole in her shoulder shut.

There was little blood, the bullet lay on the table next to her, and nothing but worry and love in her gaze when they stepped inside the room. Kolja pressed himself against her side, Valja was talking to Dad in hushed voices and her Mom was just looking at her. Had the Doctor look her over for injuries not soon after, got her a change of clothes and when Riza came looking for them alongside Uncle Roy, even got them some food.

When everything was talked over, morning already dawning, it was Valja’s turn to be caught up by what happened to them. Heard him talk about how he should’ve been stronger, able to help and protect, how he should’ve been on the lookout when they were outside. Watched, as Dad hugged him, heard her mother explain that nothing was his fault, that he couldn’t have done anything to prevent this.

Just knew that there’d be nightmares for all of them, yet wanted to go home, to crawl into her bed and just sleep for hours on end.

Not long after her father had readied their own car, got them all inside, Fadeaushka sitting on top of their feet, sleeping soundly too. Her parents in the front seat, still talking.

“You know what, I’ll do the dishes and the laundry! You can’t, with your arm banged up like this.”

Heard her mother laugh a little, the humour in her reply.

“And have all my clothes shrink again? No thank you!”

Her fathers reply coming equally as quick.

“You’d look gorgeous in it!”

Normally wanted to barf when her parents were like this, all playful and lovey-dovey, but now saw it differently.

If all of those stories they’d been told for years were true, how often had Dad seen Mom get hurt? How did Dad lose his arm, had Mom been there, already known him at all? And though she’d always suspected that, with her parents work in the military and all, they’d seen plenty of horrible things, how did they cope with that? Managed to be so calm, so loving still?

Thought about the day, how she’d been abducted, hit, insulted and threatened. She had a big bruise on her face, scuffing on wrists and ankles and her heart beat faster just thinking about the helplessness she’d felt. If Valja hadn’t been strong enough to knock their guard unconscious, if Kolja hadn’t been smart enough to play their abductors, to help them plan.

They’d belittled her brothers in front of her, had called them all kinds of horrible things and during the ride in the truck the men had talked about what they would do with her, the memory alone having a shiver race up her spine.

She almost flinched when a hand touched her face, wiping tears away she’d not noticed running down her face. Saw her mother’s eyes trained on her, while her father parked the car and got out, waking up Valja and lifting up Kolja, Fadeaushka jumping out behind them.

Marvelled at how swiftly her mother was sitting next to her in the backseat, pulling her close, head resting on her chest. Fingers threading through her hair, soothing and calm and wonderfully tight.

She let it out, cried until there were no tears left and did not even complain when their parents once inside the house demanded that they all stay in the living room. Helped, when they started to pull out the couch, to bring forth what was usually used as a guest-bed. Valja turning on the TV, at this time of day only re-runs to be seen on the three stations existing.

Even cuddled close, when all of them sat down, huddled together, watching and at the same time not seeing the flickering images on the screen. Sleep soon captured each and everyone of them, one after another and when she woke up several hours later, sun already high in the sky, she felt decidedly better. Turned her head carefully, Kolja laying on her tummy with his, Valja sleeping with Fadeaushka in his arms, snoring loudly.

Saw her parents, both awake, whispering with one another. Their foreheads touching, words unhearable, her father’s thumb sometimes swiping at her mother’s cheek. Somehow felt gratified at that, knowing that they were struggling with what happened too, with all that had ever happened to them. That even so, they’d gotten past it, had them, a house, a dog. Each other.

Knew, that they’d do everything to help them past what happened yesterday, to make sure that they felt safe and happy. Hoped that at least, but deep down was sure.

Volunteered to make breakfast, when her parents caught her sleeping with her eyes open.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), whose goal is to improve communication between readers and authors. I invite you to leave:
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